Dream, as if you’ll live forever
That’s what we’ve learnt from eminent Brazilian urban architect Jaime Lerner, who passed away this Thursday, 27th May, at the age of 83.
“My role is to make them dream. To share dreams with them, to get them to have dreams and in these dreams it is not my role to share them reality. That is the concern of their parents. My role is to push them to dream and to share imagination.”
-Jamie Lerner reflecting on his role as a grandfather and his relationship with his grandchildren while in conversation with Tia Kansara, CEO of Replenish Earth. She was touched by his role of a dreamer, something she has seen in his work as an architect.
He was a renowned architect and urban planner who led the urban revolution that made Curitiba an example of urban planning, public transportation, environmental social programs and urban projects. He’s been mayor of Curitiba three times and governor twice of the state of Paraná in southern Brazil.
His philosophy that transport should be both efficient, affordable and sustainable, thereby helping cities by focusing on health and community–inspired innovations across the city and taught a lesson to cities across the globe. His vision for green areas played a major role in making Curitiba the third greenest city in the world in 2007.
Jaime Lerner’s ideas were revolutionary for his time, even for developed countries. His visions were simple but with incredible foresight and Curitiba shows how imaginative, and compelling solutions can actually become reality. He identified that the city was a system that should work towards sustainability holistically, using large-scale cohesive solutions. With this, he put Curitiba on the map as a leading global example on urban sustainability.
“If you want creativity, cut one zero from your budget. If you want sustainability, cut two zeroes from your budget. And if you want solidarity, assume your identity and respect others’ diversity. There are three main issues that are becoming important, not only for your city, but for the whole of mankind. These relate to three key issues in cities: mobility, sustainability, and tolerance (or social diversity).”
The memory of Jamie Lerner as a global pioneer and a passionate Replenisher, who created an environmental legacy for people and the earth shall always be an inspiration to us at Replenish Earth.
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Replenish Earth, a cause and a collective action to protect the global commons — the natural resources we all share. Replenish Earth is focused on ecosystem restoration, with a multidisciplinary approach to creating a positive impact on earth including and not limited to education, eco-therapy (physical and virtual), eco-products, eco-futurism.
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